An Investigation of Mental Health Issues Among Military Veterans Who Are Potential Candidates for Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA)
Abstract
Objectives and Rationale for the Application: Thousands of military personnel have suffered catastrophic injuries to their face/head and/or hands/arms in Service to the country. While advances in medical technology have improved survival rates and long-term recovery from these injuries, many Veterans have suffered injuries that are not optimally treated with conventional reconstructive procedures and/or currently available prosthetics. The experience of a significant military injury can negatively impact physical and psychological functioning for the rest of their lives. The program of research described in this application is closely aligned with several Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2018 Reconstructive Transplant Research Program focus areas. The study is primarily designed to “identify factors impacting a patient’s ability to pursue VCA” (vascularized composite allotransplantation) and “identify criteria for optimizing successful patient selection and outcomes.” Applicability and Impact of the Research to Service Members, Veterans, and the Field of VCA: A hypothesis-driven, quantitative study of the psychological comorbidities of Veterans who have suffered injuries that would potentially make them appropriate for VCA procedures would provide critically important information that could inform who might best benefit from VCA. The study will generate a number of empirical manuscripts that will be published in the peer-reviewed academic literature. In the final year of the award, members of relevant stakeholder groups (military trauma programs, VCA programs, etc.) will be assembled to review a subset of theoretical VCA cases and reach consensus on an individual patient’s appropriateness for a VCA procedure. Results of this exercise will be published in the academic literature with the goal of informing the field of the physical and psychosocial factors that affect candidacy for VCA. This group also will generate a position statement focused on the mental health issues related to patient selection for a VCA procedure. This statement will have great potential to guide the clinical management of VCA candidates for years to come.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 19, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910837
Entities
People
- David Sarwer
Organizations
- Temple University
- United States Army